Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef, age 61, has been the acting C-O of the police station in her small Ontario town for 6 years. Due to budget constraints (and the political positioning of her boss who wants to shut down their department and consolidate it with the larger unit 2 counties away) there is no local commander, Hazel drives her predecessor's car, and they are short-staffed by at least one investigator. Despite these constraints, she manages to run the department effectively, refusing to allow her department to be swallowed up. So when an elderly local woman, terminally ill with cancer, is discovered brutally murdered in her home, Hazel is determined that they conduct the investigation themselves rather than turning it over to others. A few days later, Hazel's unit is called to assist at a murder scene in a nearby town - a middle aged man with multiple sclerosis. Forensic analysis indicates that most of the blood on the dead man was not his - and that part of it belonged to the elderly lady. With proof that the murders are related, Hazel is even more determined to solve the crimes without outside help. The investigation stretches her department to the limit and covers the country from British Columbia to Newfoundland. In the process of examining the killer's actions and trying to understand his motives, Hazel is forced to examine her own as well.

I liked this book. At times it seemed to drag, and be loaded down with too many details. There are a lot of characters here, both law enforcement and victims. The crime scene descriptions were horrifically gruesome, and got worse as the book went on - definitely not for the squeamish. This bad guy was one sick puppy. I'm OK with that, but I didn't like that Hazel kept thinking she could indentify with him and how he was feeling and what he was thinking. He was so bad and she is basically very good - it just seemed presumptious of her and inconsistent with her experience and maturity. It fed the internal conflict that she had to face before the end of the book, but it seemed contrived. Still, I was pleased to find an interesting new series. ( )

Reason for Reading: My sister brought the book to my attention and I saw that Mo Hayder had put a blurb on it so I definitely was intrigued by this new author.

Summary: Inspector Hazel Micallef is the acting chief of police at a small Ontario town. At 61 years of age daily life for Hazel and this police force involves drunks, trespassing, speeding and maybe the occasional domestic dispute. That is until an elderly town citizen dying of cancer is brutally murdered and drained of all her blood. Investigating the murder Hazel and her force stumble upon a similar case in a small town not so far away and believe they have stumbled upon the trail of a serial killer who has been working his way across Canada. Can they find him before he reaches the Atlantic?

Comments: A fabulous new crime writer for me to follow! Inger Ash Wolfe is actually a pseudonym for Russell Smith, an already published Canadian author. While Smith's own books don't hold any appeal for me to read, The Calling is a fantastic addition to the serial killer genre. Very well-written with a creepiness that just oozes from it's pages. The gruesome factor nowhere matches Mo Hayder but it has enough, written with style to satisfy fans looking for hard edge mysteries. It was mostly the plot and the mystery that kept this book alive for me though as I couldn't quite find myself comfortable with the main characters. Hazel is the central figure with a few of her police officers taking secondary character roles. Nobody was particularly likable to me; they all just rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps this may be unique to this particular reader. Yet I find it hard to 100% enjoy a book when I don't like any of the main characters. There was one guy who I started to like by the end of the book but it is left up in the air as to whether he will be returning. I guess I'll find out in The Taken. I'll certainly be continuing with this series. The plot and the crime are so very unique that I'm eager to find what else Wolfe will come up with and I'm hoping that with another book I'll find a regular character that grows on me. A definite not-to-be-missed book for serial killer crime fans. ( )

This was really good. A page turner. I really like Hazel and hope to see her in the future. ( )

Grisly, but good read. The main character, Hazel, has some strong flaws that make her a very real character. Odd story lines that dwindle or disappear made me wonder if this is the first of a series; if not, if started as a writing exercise for the author and turned into a decent book.

I'd love to know who the author is. Educated guesses, anyone? ( )

Meh. Pacing started off strong and gripping, but broke down midway through. On the other hand, the characters were well-developed and complex, and I'd give them another look should there be a series. Hoped I'd be able to figure out which "literary novelist" the pseudonymous Inger Ash Wolfe is, but no such luck. ( )